The first time — and hopefully not the last time — the Raptors won it all
CBC Archives | Posted: June 13, 2020 12:30 PM | Last Updated: June 13
No matter what happens in the future, the Raptors and their fans likely won't forget what happened in 2019
It was on June 13, 2019, that Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry and the rest of the Toronto Raptors won it all in Oakland and began celebrating there, as their fans back home rejoiced and a long-sought goal was fulfilled.
It took the franchise 24 years to climb that pedestal, so they could be crowned as the league's champs.
That huge story would include Leonard's headline-making, buzzer-beating shot against Philadelphia, the team's victory in the Eastern Conference Finals over Milwaukee, the final series against Golden State, the win itself and the epic parade to salute the champs — including, of course, the moment Drake caught the mic that was tossed to him and talked to CBC as it was all going on.
"I don't believe nobody went into work today," Leonard said, referencing the massive crowd of rabid Raptors fans, gathered in the streets of Toronto for the parade.
That excitement, that joy, that celebratory gathering of hundreds of thousands of people in the street made June that year the most memorable month for the city's sports fans in a while.
Fans were then hungry to see the story continue, as they hoped to see a certain superstar return to play with the Raptors again.
But that was not to be, even though fans, marketers, Raptors superfan Nav Bhatia, Mayor John Tory and the team itself worked in various ways to try to convince Leonard to stay.
But on the day of the championship parade, Leonard had given Toronto fans some wise words to consider.
"Enjoy this moment and have fun with it," Leonard said.
He was right — and Raptors fans did what he said.